Key Facts
About the course
The School of Sport Science and Physical Activity are focused on promoting football and developing students’ understanding of the variety of ways the football industry impacts on society. Figures released by a leading sports business consultancy reveal that 70 per cent of all football fans worldwide are now watching the English game. Never has it been more necessary to prepare well-rounded graduates for entry into football-related professions and industries.
Building on the appeal of the UK’s most popular sporting competition, this course prepares you to work in a range football-related health, education, and social settings through increased participation in football setting placements.
The impact of the Premier League and Football League clubs goes beyond the obvious economic impact and encompasses investment in facilities. Community programmes supported by the Premier League in schools and deprived areas has reached a significant scale.
The rapid growth of the football sector has created opportunities to become a sports professional in an expanding, borderless industry. Football is one of the most important industries in the UK in terms of interest, participation and consumer spending. This course has been developed to reflect the growing complexity of the football market. The courses offer students the chance to enhance their employability by equipping them with the knowledge and higher-level skills demanded of a career in a global sport industry.
We support you every step of the way
We offer a Merit Scholarship, worth £2,400* over 3 academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 112 UCAS tariff points or more.
Why choose this course?
- Develop a professional approach and understanding of football with a focus on coaching.
- Learn a range of coaching skills to aid your delivery and planning of sessions relevant to the team/player standard.
- Be taught by top class professionals within the field. Staff have worked with many football bodies and a variety of individuals from within the industry.
- Develop your professional network to enhance your employability.
- Become an independent, critical, learner with the skills and knowledge to review current and future trends within the game as well as develop values associated with high quality coaching and player support.
Football Coaching with Foundation Year - BA (Hons)
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Football Coaching with Professional Practice Year - BA (Hons)
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
Unit Information - What will I learn?
Units
- Academic Writing Skills (SPO048-1) Compulsory
- Foundations For Football Coaching (SPO060-1) Compulsory
- Introduction To Football Studies (SPO085-1) Compulsory
- Introduction To Research Methods For Sport And Physical Education (SPO052-1) Compulsory
- Sport In Action: Management (SPO087-1) Compulsory
- Sport, Physical Activity And Life Story (SPO088-1) Compulsory
- The Football Industry (SPO083-1) Compulsory
- Working In Sport (SPO047-1) Compulsory
- Applied Football Coaching (SPO093-2) Compulsory
- Dissertation Preparation (SPO095-2) Compulsory
- Football Development (SPO096-2) Compulsory
- Football Governance (SPO102-2) Compulsory
- Football In The Community (SPO097-2) Compulsory
- Performance Analysis (Player And Match) (SPO035-2) Compulsory
- Research Methods For Sport And Physical Activity (SPO100-2) Compulsory
- Social Psychology Of Sport (SPO026-2) Compulsory
- Advanced Coaching For Football (SPO086-3) Compulsory
- Coaching Alternative Populations (SPO087-3) Compulsory
- Dissertation For Sport And Physical Activity (SPO042-3) Compulsory
- Performance Analysis For Football (SPO090-3) Compulsory
- Performance Coaching (SPO058-3) Compulsory
- Player Potential And Development (SPO091-3) Compulsory
- Work Placement Project (SPO057-3) Compulsory
- Psychology For Football (SPO092-3) Optional
- Running A Business (SPO093-3) Optional
How will I be assessed?
You will be required to undertake a variety of assessment that vary depending upon the learning outcomes of the unit delivered. The range of assessment styles includes: written reports and essays, oral presentations, e-portfolios, phase tests, collaborative projects. In addition, you will undertake practical assessments related to the design, planning and delivery aspects relevant to a wide variety of football coaching projects providing opportunity to develop and demonstrate critical analysis, problem solving, communication styles needed in coaching. Assessment of these activities will be based on tasks which develop vocational skills, underpinned by subject knowledge, requiring higher levels of cognition in the upper levels of the course. As you progress through the levels of study the marking criteria for all assessment styles undertaken will be that much more rigorous, with the expectation you progressively demonstrate a more theory driven understanding of football coaching issues and practices. The workshop approach of the teaching and learning strategy enables formative assessment to be ongoing. Units combines formal -summative' (e.g. individual and group-based assignments) and informal -formative' (e.g. reflective tasks) modes of assessment, drawing also upon peer review and peer support techniques, staggered periodically throughout the units so as to emphasise and support incremental individual student learning as process.
Our students say our courses, teaching and support are a winning combination, that’s why we are 51st out of 122 for Sport in the Guardian University Guide 2022.
We’re 12th for employability because our courses get you a degree-level job.
We have more one-to-one time for you which is why we are in the top 10 for staff/student ratio.
Entry Requirements
To learn more about the following UCAS entry requirement tariffs:
- 80 – 96 tariff points
- 96 – 112 tariff points
- 112- 120 tariff points
and information on qualifications to achieve those points visit beds.ac.uk/entryrequirements
You can check your qualifications are valid for UK universities through the UCAS Tariff Calculator
For International and EU entry requirements please visit your country page
Don't forget you may be eligible for one of our scholarships or bursaries
Entry Requirements
Applying from the UK?
To learn more about the following UCAS entry requirement tariffs:
- 80 – 96 tariff points
- 96 – 112 tariff points
- 112- 120 tariff points
and information on qualifications to achieve those points visit beds.ac.uk/entryrequirements
You can check your qualifications are valid for UK universities through the UCAS Tariff Calculator
Applying from outside of the UK?
For International and EU entry requirements please visit your country page
Don't forget you may be eligible for one of our scholarships or bursaries
How will this course improve my career prospects?
Career paths for graduates of this course include football and sport development, football and sport coaching,
and specialised posts in the leisure, sport and recreation industries.
Fees and Funding
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2021/22 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2021/22 is £9,250 per year.
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2021/22 is £12,350 per year. A prompt payment discount is available if you pay the full Year 1 fee before or at registration. There are also special scholarships available.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Fees and Funding
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2021/22 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
EU
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2021/22 is £9,250 per year.
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2021/22 is £12,350 per year. A prompt payment discount is available if you pay the full Year 1 fee before or at registration. There are also special scholarships available.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Extra Costs
School of Sport Science and Physical Activity facilities
The School of Sport Science and Physical Activity houses a multi-million pound, state of the art teaching and research sport sciences laboratory facility.
Facilities include six purpose-built British Association of Sport & Exercise Science (BASES) accredited sport and exercise science laboratories, a nutrition research kitchen, and two molecular and cellular physiology labs, which promote excellence in both teaching and research.
Sports Science Labs
Our specialist sports science labs give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the biology of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within the sports hall.
The state-of-the-art laboratories are purpose built for research and teaching in the fields of exercise and nutrition science. This includes specialised equipment and facilities for assessing human health risk and delivering exercise and diet interventions for health promotion.
Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Centre
Our Sports Therapy & Rehabilitation Centre includes three clinical teaching spaces, a sports injury clinic, a rehabilitation room, a community exercise clinic and a private room for consultations and treatments.
Environmental chamber
Our environmental chamber is used for teaching, research and by top-class athletes in training for competition in different climates.
International standard sports arena
Our sports facilities include a gym, strength and conditioning suite, AstroTurf, grass pitches, outdoor basketball, tennis and netball courts, in addition to the International standard sports arena, which seats up to 400 spectators.
Aspire Gym
The Aspire Gyms offer a range of affordable membership options giving students exclusive use of a convenient campus-based fitness facility.
The Bedford gym facilitates state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smartphone compatibility as well as an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area. Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.
How to Apply
Application for most full-time undergraduate and foundation courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
We expect to receive UCAS applications between 1 September and 15 January for courses starting in the following academic year, but may consider applications received after this date should places be available.
Please contact admission@beds.ac.uk for further details.
All UK schools and colleges are registered with UCAS to manage their students' applications. Advice on how to submit your UCAS application is available from your school or college.
If you are not at school or college (including mature students) you should apply independently via UCAS
EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply via UCAS or direct using our admissions form
International students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country
You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student
How to Apply
UK
Application for most full-time undergraduate and foundation courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
We expect to receive UCAS applications between 1 September and 15 January for courses starting in the following academic year, but may consider applications received after this date should places be available.
Please contact admission@beds.ac.uk for further details.
All UK schools and colleges are registered with UCAS to manage their students' applications. Advice on how to submit your UCAS application is available from your school or college.
If you are not at school or college (including mature students) you should apply independently via UCAS
EU
EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply via UCAS or direct using our admissions form
International
International students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country
You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student
Changes to teaching for 2020/21
Delivery will be a blended approach, with all lectures delivered online recorded and stored on appropriate BREO shells. Seminar/Workshop sessions will be delivered on campus in the usual teaching spaces following Covid risk assessments and safety strategies e.g., reduced room capacities to allow for social distancing.
The course coordinator will provide information on the general approach to teaching delivery during induction (i.e., prior to the first teaching week). Induction will take a blended approach, with a timetable provided online prior to an on campus day. This will provide an interactive orientation to the course, specifically detailing how the planned blended learning will be accessed and delivered to all students. Unit coordinators will provide information on the delivery for each individual unit in the first teaching session and reinforce this approach before each taught session.